The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-02-26
.a.f DIR
sALTLAKE CIrY UTAH: SATURDAY.. FEBRUARY e. 1857 Il

not conceivable. The interest was
paid, and would be paid, as
promptly as the interest on the United
States bonds. Such an idea has neve +
occurred to the mind of mortal man,
because back of the first mortgage Sc
curlt4es there was an immense interest
amounting to $.30,000,000 or $40, Co.,
0OO. Therefore, the contingency OF
failure TO pav the interest, or to pay the
| principal at maturity was a thing not
to be thought of for at least ten years.
such suggestion put into the law of
congress, was mere attempt to bear"
down the first mortgage bonds.
The section, therefore, should not be in
| the bill, and he hoped that the Senator
from New Jersey would adhere to his
motion 10 strike it out.
| Mr.. McPherson-I will adhere to it. l
| prefer to have it stricken out.
Mr.. Sherman said he had not read
the bill carefully until to-day, and be
had to confess that, on the whole, with
some qualifications. the House resolu-
tons covered all that was requisite in
the matter. He thought the rate fixed
in the Senate bill for the compensation
OF the commissioners $3.50 a month";
was too high. The effect of it
was 4ihoAy W NC W prOIOuS
the investigation, The amount
fixed by the House C$3 600 a YEAR
was probably too small; he thought
right sum. He hoped the Senate
would strike out the fourth section as
entirely unnecessary. If the railroad
companies should ever default on the
interest or principal of their bonds,
Congress would be able to protect the
government. The common law right
of subrogation existed, and the govern
ment could, even without this act,
assert its right TO be subrogated in
place OF the mortgage bonds. There
was no necessity, therefore, for such
legislation. 1t was threat against the
railroad companies. 1t did no good,
but only evil.
Mr.. Hoar contended that the COM
pensation proposed in the Senate bill
for the commissioners was not too high
He wanted for those Offices men of high
character, who would dIssipate the
scandal of blackmailers. The thousand
influences which had been directed at
the Senate from bull and bear, from
anonymous writer's in the press, from
persons with political ends in view.
made the history of this measure, to
his mind, one OF the most humiliating
in American legislation. 1t was for the
interests of the government to preserve
the management of the Union Pacific
road, not TO send it back to the harpies
of the New York stock market, from
which Mr.. Adams had rescued it.
He would say OF MIR. Adams that in
the great undertaking in which he had
embarked his reputation, he was acting
with wisdom, an integrity, sense of
duty and a sense of honor, which en-
titled him to the respect of the Amer
lean people. If Mr.. Adams should sue
coed in rescuing that great road and
restoring it to the purpose for which
it was chartered, in making it. stand
free, independent and strong, indepen-
dent of the American people; if he
should succeed in making it stand as
the Baltimore & Ohio or Bos-
ton & Albany stood. simple business
institution, managed by its owners, re-
| turning reasonable, honorable moder-
ate profits, he would have performed a
service to the American people, which
would confer new Iustre even on the
great name which for four generations
had been the chiefest ornament in her
history.
Mr.. George, in the name of The
burdened taxpayers of the country,
protested against any further surrender
OF their right in behalf of these railroad
companies. He did not wish to crush
out these roads. He did not want
government to become the owner of
the roads, but he wanted the govern
ment to get its money, and the only
way in which it could get its money,
was to make the companies pay it.
Mr.. Hoar said there was not dollar
due to the government from the Pa
eifc railroads, and would not be until
1897. What the government did
under the Thurman act was to
say that under its power it would
require the companies to pay into
the sinking fund a certain sum of
money so that there should be some
preparation for the payment of their
debts.
Mr.. Mcpherson said that he had been
persistent in demanding that the reso-
luton be brought to the attention of
the Senate, because the conduct of Con-
gress in the past six months had been
most humiliating. Bills had been
brought before the Senate and House
seeking for a settlement OF the
debts of the Pacific railroads which,
if passed, would grant a larger sub
sidy than had ever heretofore
been granted to them. The bill
reported by the Senator from Massa-
chusetts kpown as the funding bill,
(Which to the Senator's credit he had
withdrawn when he discovered its
character)-if it had passed the Senate
would have sent the Union Pacific stock
up fifty points. Now the Judiciary com
mittee brought in as an addenda to an
investigation, resolution and amend
ment, which if adopted, would have the
effect of making the Union Pacific stock
fall off fifty per cent. There was no
agency on earth SO powerful as the
judiciary committee to enable stock
iobbers to bull the market on the
funding bill and then bear it on
the amendment to the pending resolu-
ton. In conclusion, he commented
upon what he thought the investigation
would prove to bean act that the